Frank Seravalli: “BREAKING: Sources tell @DailyFaceoff – NHL, Arizona Coyotes & Smith Entertain. Grp have made significant progress on the framework of an agreement to relocate #Yotes to Salt Lake City, Utah. #NHL memo updated Governors today. NOT done. Many layers and lawyers. Much work to do.
- Frank Seravalli: “Sources say #Yotes players have been informed that something of a “verbal” agreement is in place to relocate to Salt Lake City, but we’ve received pushback on that characterization of talks. Nonetheless, this is well down the track. Let’s see what happens next.”
Sportscity: Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show talking about the NHL preparing for a two schedules for next season – Arizona Coyotes and Salt Lake City, the possibility of the Coyotes being sold and relocating to Utah, and Arizona getting a team back in a few years.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “The report today on Daily Faceoff about the two schedules and we’ve been talking a lot about contingency plans and what the NHL needs to do. I’m guessing none of this would be surprising. This is the sort of natural course of business I would imagine that know, before the Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg, there was the thought process of having two schedules, one for a team in Georgia, one for a team in Manitoba. But your thoughts on the report today?”
Friedman: “Well, I think that I don’t really dispute any of it. I think it’s all, I can’t say 100% that it’s all airtight but it’s, it’s, it fits exactly with what I’ve been hearing and we’ve been hearing. I think it’s, I think he’s got a lot of accuracy there and you know, like it was, like we said yesterday. like we said yesterday, the NHL is preparing for the future of the Arizona Coyotes short-term and the long-term future of hockey in Arizona.
And so, you know, basically so you know, there’s the auction on June 27th. But the Coyotes are on record is saying if they win the auction, they probably won’t be ready to play in the new arena until fall of 2027.
And I think one of the big questions here is, can this stay the way it is for three more years? And you know, and I think to a lot of people, the answer is, I’m not sure they’re really thrilled about that idea, even if they do win the auction.
So yes, Jeff, I do think one of the things they’ve been talking about is, do we move the team and then do we make and so as part of the sale, Alex Morello has, quote, unquote, whatever you want to call it, the right of first refusal, pending approval by the NHL board, some language like that, to be the next owner of the or, the owner of the next Arizona franchise whenever it comes.
I absolutely believe that was on the table and I think that’s one of the things they have discussed. And I think the reason why, and look, if it’s Utah I think we’re going to know soon. And I think the fact that this came out today, it might even be sooner than people thought.”
